A few months ago, Lebanon arrested Amer Fakhoury, a former senior officer in the South Lebanese Army, the Israeli-backed force that served as a bulwark against terrorist groups based in that country from 1979 until 2000. Fakhoury was arrested at the behest of Hizballah, which had hoped to exchange him for one of its financiers who is currently in U.S. custody. Thanks to pressure from the Trump administration, and the threat of sanctions from the Senate, Fakhoury was released two weeks ago—without any reciprocation by Washington. Yoni Ben Menachem explains why this matters:

Hizballah objected to the release of Fakhoury and tried to torpedo it, but in the end the Lebanese surrendered to American pressure. In Lebanon and the Arab world there is much criticism of both Beirut and Hizballah on social media, alleging that [both] made a deal with the American president to release Fakhoury. As a result of this harsh criticism, the head of the military court in Lebanon resigned.

The Lebanese government is keeping quiet and the head of Hizballah, Hassan Nasrallah, denied that there was a deal between Hizballah and the American administration. Nasrallah called for setting up a committee to investigate how Fakhoury was released. In a television interview, he admitted . . . that there was a great deal of pressure put on the Lebanese government and that Hizballah strongly opposed Fakhoury’s release.

The bottom line is that this is a tremendous achievement and victory for President Trump over Hizballah and over the Lebanese government. Nasrallah is trying to cover up his failure, but he will not succeed because it is obvious that both Hizballah and the Lebanese government surrendered to American pressure.

As for the charges of torturing and killing prisoners on which Fakhoury was arrested, although they have been repeated uncritically in the American press, they rest on the shakiest of foundations.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.